When you charge with a USB-C PD power source the phone and the power source “negotiate” the voltage that the phone wants. This takes about a second. USB-C is the first source for charging devices that can supply more than one voltage, from 3.3 to 21 volts, making it a “universal” charger that can be used with phones, tablets, computers and other devices (I have a vacuum cleaner that charges with a USB-C charger, for example). Your iPhone 13 will fast charge with 7.5 volts (not amps), for example, and it tells that to the USB-C power source. When you use a USB-A power source, it can only supply 5 volts, so there is no negotiation required.
Want more detail about how the negotiation works?
The PD 2.0 specification allows the source (charger) to provide fixed voltages such as 5, 9, 12, 15, and 20V at a maximum allowable current to the sink (mobile device).
- When the devices are initially connected, the source provides 5V over the VBUS.
- If the source finds that it’s attached to a USB Type-C cable, it sends a Source_Capabilities message; a series of 32-bit power delivery objects (PDOs) specify each fixed voltage and maximum allowable current it can deliver.
- The sink device (i.e., iPhone) responds with a 32-bit request data object (RDO) that indicates its desired source voltage and current.
- As the cells are charged, the sink periodically renegotiates with the source to increase or decrease voltage and/or current. During each power transition, the sink is required to reduce power consumption to 2.5 W (pSnkStdby) until the source accepts the request and sends first an Accept and then a PS-RDY message.
I won’t further complicate it with the USB-C/PD 3.0 specification, which has a continuous range of voltages, not just the listed voltages above.